This invention relates to surgical drapes, particularly to a drape intended for use in surgical procedures carried out on the shoulder. The drape is of particular value in arthroscopic procedures in which significant amount of bodily fluids are released and/or irrigation of the surgical site is used. The fluids are collected in a pouch associated with the drape and removed for disposal. The new surgical drape is of the type known in the art as a split drape.
While there are surgical drapes available on the market, they are not always as satisfactory as would be desired. In many currently available drapes the pouch is positioned above the patient's arm, while when the patient is seated in a reclining position (beach chair position), the pouch is not optimally located. To meet the need for an improved surgical drape for use in surgical procedures on the shoulder, the present inventors have developed the new split type drape shown in the drawing and described below.
Surgical drapes intended to be used for medical procedures on shoulders are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,647,376 and 5,871,014 and in U.S. Published patent application 2002/0174870A1. In particular, the later two disclose drapes intended for shoulder surgery in which the patient is in the “beach-chair” or Fowler position.